


A Second Chance

by DarkPhoenixGoddess10



Series: Richard and Anne: One-shots [38]
Category: The Sunne in Splendour - Sharon Kay Penman, The White Queen (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-27 05:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6270811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkPhoenixGoddess10/pseuds/DarkPhoenixGoddess10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After winning the Battle of Bosworth, Richard III was to wed Princess Joanna of Portugal in a heavy heart - because he still loves and thinks of his deceased wife Anne.</p><p>But after meeting his new bride, he was shocked.</p><p>The new bride was no one other than his (supposedly) deceased queen - Lady Anne Neville.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Second Chance

After his final victory at the Red Plain, King Richard III was to wed again.

He was a widower with no surviving legitimate heir. He needed to marry for the sake of York and England.

His heart, though, was breaking.

He had lost his wife - Lady Anne Neville - about one year ago. Only she could be his wife and queen; no other woman could take her place, ever.

Closing his eyes, Richard felt guilty as well. Anne was alone in her grave. How could he wed and bed another?

Nevertheless, he had to do what he had to do. He was a King; not an ordinary man.

***

The day had arrived.

The English King was to welcome and receive his Portuguese bride.

His friends Sir Francis Lovell and Rob Percy tried to cheer him up. But the King's face remained stone-cold.

In the midst of her Portuguese ladies, the Infanta arrived came before the King. She curtsied deeply, and then her ladies removed her veil.

The King nearly passed out upon seeing her face.

"Dickon, what is the matter?" Francis asked under his breath, holding the King to prevent him from falling.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Richard's face paled. "Look at her! It's Anne! My deceased wife Anne!"

Indeed, in her Portuguese gown, Anne stood proud, happy - and alive.

"My dear husband Richard," she greeted. "I thought you'd be happy to see me."

***

Richard locked himself in his chamber. He refused to see or speak to anyone, particularly Anne.

He was confused and angry.

Why? How?

He buried his Anne.

He was at her funeral!

How could she...

The door knocks further frustrated him.

"I said I don't want to be bothered!"

Francis entered anyway. "The Queen asks which chamber she could lodge."

"You can tell her that she can go back to where she came," Richard replied coldly. "She does not have any place here."

"You are not even going to speak to her?" Francis asked. "If I lost Anna and then suddenly she came back, I would demand at least an explanation." He paused and then whispered, "I spoke to the Queen. She is alive, well, and truly, she is Anne."

***

When she came to see him, he had his back to her.

"What happened?" He asked evenly. "Why did you do this?"

"Well, after we lost our son, I realized that I just can't be your wife anymore," she muttered.

"How can you say that?" He barked. "So what then? You faked your death and left me in a limbo?"

"You need heirs," Anne said. "After we lost our son, my life was over. I know you can't have a barren queen."

"And why are you here now?" He asked, finally turned around to face her.

"To marry you again," she muttered. "I realized I can't live on without you either."

***

He had her settled in the castle. Still, he hadn't given her an answer.

He was angry at her - for putting him through hell. When he lost her to consumption, his life was over. Until then, he never knew how much she meant to him. Losing her soon after losing their son, it was too much for him to bear.

"What are you doing here?"

It was his mother, Cecily Duchess of York.

"Anne...she played me," Richard said, his voice shaking. "She faked her death...and now she's back and wants to be my wife again."

"And you are refusing her?"

"Do you have any idea what she put me through?"

"You think I do not?" Cecily sighed. "I lost your father. It was so many years ago but I still think of him everything. There are so many things I want to tell him. There are times when I wish he were here. But he isn't coming back. You have your second chance, Dickon. Don't let her go again."

***

"You asked to see me," Anne said, curtsied.

"I want to tell you how hard it is for me to see you again," Richard told her. "After you were...gone...I didn't even know the point of living. I wished I could join you. I wanted to be with you and Ned. I never realized how much I love you until the moment you breathed your last."

"Richard-"

"Don't," he continued on. "What you put me through...is beyond words."

"But I did what I have to do," Anne explained softly. "I did what I thought was right."

"And now, here you are," Richard muttered. "I cried at your funeral, Anne. Throughout my life I never shed one tear in public, until that day."

After a long silence, Anne swallowed hard and said, "If you don't want to have me back, I can understand that. At the time, I thought you no longer needed me. But now, I know how much I need you."

She turned to leave.

"Wait," Richard stopped her before she could go. "Don't go."

Anne stopped and waited for her to continue.

"You can't come back here and leave me again," he went on. "I am angry at you, but I still love you. I loved you since I married you and never stopped."

"On our wedding day, I wore a gown of sea green. You gave me a beautiful necklace as our wedding gift. And on our wedding night, you kicked everyone out to give us privacy"

"We settled in Middleham Castle and we had our first child one year later."

"Lord took him from us soon after he was born, but later we had Ned."

"Yes, our Ned. He had your eyes."

The two looked at each other and embraced. They held each other tightly.

"I love you Anne, I always will," he whispered against her hair. "You know how heavy my heart is when I agreed to marry Princess Joanna? I can't stop thinking of you, lying alone in the stone cold grave."

"Don't ever say that Richard," she wept. "Don't ever say that. You had given me everything. You owe me nothing. All I want is for you to live on, happy and healthy. I would be grateful to any woman who can make you happy again."

"Truly?"

The heavy toll suddenly rang.

"Is it for me?" Anne asked.

***

The bell rang again.

King Richard III woke up alone in bed.

The other side of the bed was empty.

Anne was gone.

He was to marry again.

The dream, aye.

He would marry, because that's what Anne would want to see.

He would be a good King and live on happily, for Anne.

But no one would replace his Anne, ever.

His Anne...in Heaven with their son Ned.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is dedicated to Lady Anne Neville who passed away on March 16th.


End file.
